[ETS/PARC List] Please send a letter to Senator Lautenberg]

[Drew Moore]

I am sending this e-mail requesting all New Jersey ARRL members to write
to Senator Frank Lautenberg, a key member of the Senate Commerce
Committee, and request his support of S. 1629.  This bill orders the
FCC to investigate the interference potential of BPL and is important
in protecting amateurs from BPL interference. 

I am including a draft letter you can personalize or use as a model.
Please send me an e-mail copy at n2ff at arrl.org of the letter you send
so that I can send a copy to John Chwat our Washington DC lobbyist.

Thanks for your help and please have a good ham radio filled summer.

73 de Frank Fallon -  ARRL Hudson Division Director.......


The Honorable Frank Lautenberg
United States Senate 
Hart Senate Office Building
Suite 324
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Lautenberg:

	On behalf of nearly 700,000 federally licensed Amateur Radio operators
across the nation, with more than 13,000 residing in New Jersey, I wish
to bring to your attention an issue that affects emergency
communication operations.  As a voter in your district, I request that
you become a cosponsor and support passage within the Senate Commerce,
Science and Technology Committee, of S. 1629, the "Emergency Amateur
Radio Interference Protection Act."  This bill urges the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a very targeted but
comprehensive evaluation of "broadband over power line" (BPL) systems
that may interfere with public safety and other licensed radio
services.

BPL utilizes electric power lines to serve as conductors of broadband
signals. Unfortunately, because the power lines are not shielded, they
also act as antennas and radiate signals into the air.   These radiated
signals interfere with radio receivers tuned to the same frequency
range. BPL has only been deployed to a very limited extent, but amateur
radio operators and several state public safety commissions report they
are already experiencing severe interference that the FCC has been
unable or unwilling to correct.  

Because no infrastructure is needed to communicate, amateur radio
service is the only 100 percent fail-safe emergency communication
system in the world.  Interference from BPL emissions is significantly
disrupting this capability.  The impact on emergency communications
extends beyond amateur radio operations.  Fourteen states utilize a
similar frequency range for state police operations, and nine of those
states use it as their primary radio band.  The interference concern
has also been echoed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB),
the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International
(APCO), and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
(NPSTC).   

In deploying broadband, it is vital that further understanding and
causation of interference be studied by the FCC.  S.1629 will
accomplish this goal, by allowing the FCC to ascertain what additional
rules governing BPL systems, if any, should be adopted by the FCC in
order to reduce the interference potential to a reasonably low level.
The FCC has authority to study this issue, as it is the primary agency
responsible for adopting rules in BPL systems.  Unfortunately, the 2004
rules governing BPL are not sufficient to reduce the probability of
harmful interference to reasonable levels.  
	
Amateur radio operators, like myself, are not opposed to broadband
services.  On the contrary, we usually tend to be early adopters of new
technology.  However, BPL represents a significant potential
interference source for radio services using certain frequency ranges.
Unlike BPL, other methods of providing broadband Internet services to
consumers, such as cable, DSL, wireless and Fiber to the Home, do not
pollute the radio spectrum.  

It is imperative that there is a comprehensive evaluation of the
interference potential of BPL to public safety services and other
licensed radio services.  The potential impact on public safety
communications must be taken into consideration.  Please cosponsor and
support passage of S.1629, or support its inclusion in a comprehensive
broadband bill.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.  

					Sincerely,



					Name, Title, Contact Information

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ARRL Hudson Division
Director: Frank Fallon, N2FF
n2ff at arrl.org
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